Booting Original FW - Revision history

Oshazard: "lunux", LOL!

2011-10-26T01:27:00Z

"lunux", LOL!

RMerlin: Added some clarifications to the first method.

2011-09-15T23:35:30Z

Added some clarifications to the first method.

Quadravibe at 23:52, 18 May 2011

2011-05-18T23:52:02Z

Show changes

RMerlin: Increased root.bin size

2011-05-06T21:54:57Z

Increased root.bin size

RMerlin: Initial content

2011-03-18T04:07:53Z

Initial content

New page

It is possible to take the original firmware from WD, and turn it into a bootable root.bin. This will allow you to boot from it without having to reflash your device.

'''Requirement:''' WDLXTV 0.4.5.3 or newer, USB disk with at least 350 MB of space

# Download the WDTV firmware you wish to try
# Download the following script: http://www.lostrealm.ca/files/mkrootbin.sh.gz. Or, create it yourself:

#!/bin/sh
echo -e "### Stripping WD firmware..."
tail -c +33 wdtvlive.bin > wdtvlive.stripped.bin

echo -e "\n### Creating empty root.bin..."
dd if=/dev/zero of=root.bin-104 bs=1024k count=150
mkfs.ext3 ./root.bin-104

echo -e "\n ### Mounting filesystems..."
mkdir /tmp/wdfw
mkdir /tmp/newfw

mount -o loop root.bin-104 /tmp/newfw
mount -o loop wdtvlive.stripped.bin /tmp/wdfw

echo -e "\n### Transfering content to root.bin..."
rsync -avHS /tmp/wdfw/* /tmp/newfw

mkdir -p /tmp/newfw/boot
mkdir -p /tmp/newfw/dev
mkdir -p /tmp/newfw/mnt/boot
mkdir -p /tmp/newfw/mnt/fwup
mkdir -p /tmp/newfw/opt
mkdir -p /tmp/newfw/proc

echo -e "\n### Flushing filesystems..."
sync && sync && sync

echo -e "\n### Unmounting filesystems..."
umount /tmp/newfw
umount /tmp/wdfw

echo -e "\n### Removing original WD files..."
rm wdtvlive.stripped.bin wdtvlive.bin

echo -e "All done! To set your WDTV to boot from that file, run the following command:\n\nconfig_tool -c ROOT_TAG='104'\nconfig_tool -s\nconfig_tool -s\nsync && reboot\n"
echo -e "\nTo reboot on your flashed firmware, boot without the USB disk plugged in."
echo -e "Once booted, plug it back, log into SSH, and run the following commands:\n\nconfig_tool -c ROOT_TAG=''\nconfig_tool -s\nconfig_tool -s\nsync && reboot\n"

# Copy wdtvlive.bin and the unpacked content of mkrootbin.sh.gz on your USB disk
# Telnet/SSH to your WDTV, then go to the directory on your USB disk (probably inside /tmp/media/usb/USB1/something/ or USB2/something )
# Run the script:

./mkrootbin.sh

Be patient. You will be updated throughout the various steps.

Once done, follow the instruction displayed at the end to enable booting from the newly created root.bin-104.
'''NOTE:''' if you are using an older WDLXTV than 0.4.5.3, simply rename root.bin-104 for root.bin, then reboot.

← Older revision		Revision as of 01:27, 26 October 2011
Line 91:		Line 91:


−	'''- If you already have a ~~lunux OS~~ skip to step 10.'''	+	'''- If you already have a Linux distro skip to step 10.'''

@@ Line 2: / Line 2: @@
 '''Requirement:''' WDLXTV 0.4.5.3 or newer, USB disk with at least 450 MB of space
 # Download the WDTV firmware you wish to try
@@ Line 46: / Line 48: @@
-# Copy wdtvlive.bin and the unpacked content of mkrootbin.sh.gz on your USB disk
+# Copy wdtvlive.bin and the unpacked content of mkrootbin.sh.gz on your USB disk.
 # Telnet/SSH to your WDTV, then go to the directory on your USB disk (probably inside /tmp/media/usb/USB1/something/ or USB2/something )
 # Run the script:
@@ Line 54: / Line 56: @@
-Be patient. You will be updated throughout the various steps.
+Be patient. You will be updated throughout the various steps.  If you get asked to confirm that you are sure you want to create a new filesystem, answer Y)es.
 Once done, follow the instruction displayed at the end to enable booting from the newly created root.bin-104.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 It is possible to take the original firmware from WD, and turn it into a bootable root.bin.  This will allow you to boot from it without having to reflash your device.
-'''Requirement:''' WDLXTV 0.4.5.3 or newer, USB disk with at least 350 MB of space
+'''Requirement:''' WDLXTV 0.4.5.3 or newer, USB disk with at least 450 MB of space
 # Download the WDTV firmware you wish to try
@@ Line 11: / Line 11: @@
    echo -e "\n### Creating empty root.bin..."
-   dd if=/dev/zero of=root.bin-104 bs=1024k count=150
+   dd if=/dev/zero of=root.bin-104 bs=1024k count=250
    mkfs.ext3 ./root.bin-104